Reynard put more pressure on the bellows and added coal to the furnace, but it was all fruitless. The magical gold lump refused to grow any closer to lting.
Not entirely discouraged, Reynard pulled the tal out and put it on the anvil. He smashed the yellow-hot lump with his hamr at full force, testing how malleable it was.
Ding!
To Reynard’s shock, the hamr barely left a dent, even though the tal was so hot!
He tried twice again and even tested the tal’s ability to bend by trying to break off pieces with his tongs. But Reynard’s strength was barely enough to make a scratch on the magical gold.
Finally, sweaty and panting, Reynard let the tal cool off.
"This is really sothing, Chili," he muttered. "To work with this tal, you must have a strength of... I don’t know, a Citrinito magi? Or, at the very least, so crafting magic to help you..."
"Oink! Oiiiii!"
"Yeah, I will feed you, don’t worry, Chili. Too bad I can’t feed that tal lump to you for now... Though even your stomach might not be enough for it."
Reynard put off his tongs and hamr and stared thoughtfully at the lump of tal.
He knew a few Nigredo spells that helped with various crafts. Black Salt Tempering helped strengthen iron and steel, which allowed him to create guns that didn’t explode in his hands. Others helped with basic refinent and preparation of alchemical ingredients.
There was also a spell that created a powerful gust of wind—it could be used instead of bellows if you cast it repeatedly. But Reynard found ordinary bellows more convenient...
The rest were of even less use. Most Nigredo spells, by virtue of having extrely short lifespans, were combat spells.
’But I’m not a Nigredo mage. I can find and study Albedo spells. I wonder if Blue Bismuth School’s library had anything fitting... Surely a large city like Darland has. But getting my hands on them would be a challenge.’
Most spells were only taught within a single magic school or order. Magi went to great lengths to steal spells from others, be that fighting them to copy spells, infiltrating their organisations, or just stealing manuals.
But magical orders needed money too, so they would sotis sell copies of less important manuals to traveling magi. But in Reynard’s experience with Blue Bismuth School, a traveling magi had to have so standing with the locals to be deed worthy of such generosity.
’Marien has spent over a month already working alongside these people. She might know about the spells they have. Or know soone who knows. I should ask her.’
***
"Yes, of course, there are spells. These pumpkins from the Order of Winter can’t stop bragging about their spell library!" Marien grimaced. "My ears wilt listening to them brag about themselves. Do they think this would make throw myself at their feet? Oh, but if you ask nicely, I will tolerate their prattling for long enough to see if they have a spell they need."
Reynard smiled at her, then made a deep bow and took her hands in his. With purposeful slowness, he kissed her fingers.
"Oh my beautiful princess, will you grant this favor and the rcy of your heart?"
"This... This was VERY nice." Marien giggled, not taking her hand out of Reynard’s. "I will be glad to help you, my delight!"
***
Soon enough, Reynard had his answer. And with this answer, he only had one choice...
He went to the headquarters of the Order of Snow, repeating Marien’s words to himself.
’They didn’t want to admit it, but only craftsn from the Order of Snow can smith even the hardest to lt tals. If you search for a way to slt those, you have to ask them. But since I beat up quite a few of their own, they won’t even speak to ... Hmph!’
The Order of Snow’s headquarters were surrounded by a tall wall, fully covered in fresh snow. So magic kept it stuck even to the sides of the wall, creating a deceptively soft appearance.
Even the gates were like that. On top of them, the order’s motto was written right in the everlasting snow: "Alone, we are but snowflakes. Together, we are an avalanche."
A pair of Nigredo magi guarding the gate. One of them waved Reynard over.
"You, a magus! I don’t rember your face—new here? Are you seeking to join our order, or rely so work? We are always in need of more hands."
"Can I even join you?" Reynard asked in surprise.
"Not so easy, boy," the second, much less friendly, guard interjected. "Only Order of Winter allows anyone strong enough inside—only to be double-crossed at every turn, like the morons they are! Tsk. To join the Order of Snow, you must prove that you are ready to beco a part of our common whole."
"Oh, really? Is this hard?"
’Maybe I can join these guys to get the spell I need... While trying to avoid the local politics. It might be easier than the alternatives—’
"You must forfeit all your lands and possessions to the Order of Snow. The order will repay you, naturally. Everybody gets as much as they contributed. But we can’t attach ourselves to things that promote competition and greed."
Reynard opened his mouth.
’Communists! They are hardcore communists! I... I can’t help but respect that. But...’
"So, if I contribute, say, a thousand gold—I get a thousand gold back?"
Now, both guards were frowning at Reynard.
"No! The repaynt of the order can’t always be so easily asured. The opportunity to be there, to learn from our teachers... How much is this worth? And it’s for the order to decide together, which would be the best repaynt for everyone. One that helps the entire order grow."
’Okay, scratch that. Call a cynic, but sothing tells that repaynt won’t be equal at all!’
"Thank you for the explanation. Now, uh... Since you hire traveling magi, I assu I will get repaid for a contribution even if I don’t contribute everything I have. In short—do you sell spell manuals?"
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